Hands-on with Core Blaster & PSN code giveaway

Let’s jump right in, shall we?  Core Blaster is a recently released minis game for both the PSP and PS3.  To celebrate the recent launch of the game, the developers have given me 10 PSN codes to give away to my readers.

Core Blaster can best be described as Zuma-meets-PixelJunk Monsters.  On each level there are incoming waves of radioactive cores that you’ve got to stop reaching the other side, and they travel on rails.  Along these rails you’ve to purchase and build ‘core blasters’.  Cores come in multiple colours, and core blasters can only shoot cores of the same colour.

Later levels see single colour-only rails, and fast rails which speed up the cores.  The trick is that you’ve to carefully manage the location, amount, and type of blasters to ensure that as few cores as possible elude destruction.  Each blaster can only attack one core at once, so you’ve got to choose tactics wisely!

Continue reading Hands-on with Core Blaster & PSN code giveaway

When in Rome: Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood single player

When initial reviews started flooding in, all doubt was removed from my mind.  This game was big.  Previously I wasn’t so sure exactly where Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood fitted within the series as in all honesty after Assassin’s Creed II, I had come to expect the next instalment to be ‘Assassin’s Creed III’.

Well, all as you need to know is that Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood is the next full featured instalment in the thrilling saga, with no half measures.  Brotherhood continues Ezio’s story, rather than jumping to another ancestor and time period like you would expect with a number ‘III’.

This much is made clear with the story you’re immediately thrust into, taking place shortly after Assassin’s Creed II.  I’m not really a big fan of giving away spoilers, so I won’t; your best bet for juicy plot details is probably Wikipedia.  For the most part, the plot was totally engrossing but I can’t really say that I understand the rather rushed ending, and I await the real Assassin’s Creed III to fill me in on what on earth’s going on.

Continue reading When in Rome: Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood single player

Call of Duty: Black Ops connection problems

Just a short post: I don’t know about you, but I’m now officially sick of the connection problems plaguing both Xbox 360 and PS3 players alike.  News that the Wii version (a wonderful irony in itself) got patched left me practically foaming at the mouth.  What about the rest of us?

Issues I’ve come across when playing online have included but are not limited to: ‘loss of connection’, ‘could not connect to host’, ‘ethernet cable unplugged’ (totally bogus), being booted from a match only to be unable to rejoin as the match is full, being separated from a friend in a party, being booted into theatre mode, and booted into training mode etc…

Something is quite obviously broke.  So please fix it Treyarch, you have a great game but these issues are just ruining multiplayer for myself and many others.  No wonder I’ve seen quite a few people in my friends list switch back from playing Black Ops to Modern Warfare 2.

17/12/10 Update: Treyarch have recently patched Black Ops for the Xbox 360 and the PS3, but there are reports of PS3 users still suffering from connection problems and freezing.  I’ve yet to check out Black Ops myself since the patch as I’ve switched back to Modern Warfare 2, go figure.  I’ll update this post when I can be bothered going back on Black Ops.

19/12/10 Update: Probably had the least disruption yet on Black Ops with only one disconnection from a game BUT the game froze on me again.  I’ve narrowed the freezing problem down to cancelling the killcam to allow you to respawn and… it freezes.  I called it a night after that happened.  Stay tuned for more info as and when.

23/12/10 Update: PS3 multiplayer got patched yesterday to version 1.05.  The good news?  Errr…  The bad news?  The game still freezes the PS3, and contrary to my update above, it seems to be caused by pretty much anything.  Contacting Treyarch/Activision about this now.

See also my follow-up post

Black Ops connection problems: my chat with Activision

Sony, what’s with the excessive PSN downtime?

Sometimes, you just fill up with so much frustration that you can’t make any sense.  I’ve had to calm myself down whilst writing about PSN downtime or else this post would have just been full of !@?&# and other such symbols censoring a rather exuberant use of the English language.

It’s not so much annoyance at the fact that the PlayStation Network has so much down time (or as Sony likes to call it, ‘maintenance’), it’s the fact that for Europe, it is performed at the worst possible time for our timezone.

Here’s PlayStation.Blog.Europe’s latest announcement:

PlayStation Network is offline for scheduled maintenance from 16:05 on Thursday 18 November 2010 until 01:00 on Friday 19 November 2010, GMT.

As many people have noted in the comments, this update again falls at peak gaming for Europe.  If Sony wants to tinker with the PlayStation Network 365 days a year, I don’t really care, but please, why can’t it be done either in the middle of the day or in the early hours of the morning?

I’ve had enough, have you?

Why don’t bloggers share the knowledge?

Whilst there are plenty of guides and walkthroughs available for games on the internet (note: I’m not on about finding exploits or cheats here) I’ve noticed that many come from big sites and forums, yet relatively little tips and strategies come from bloggers.  I’m not on about blogs who are geared up purely to help, but your average, small niche gaming blog, more or less like this one.  So I’ve often wondered: why is that?

Truth be told, I don’t know why.  I suspect time is an issue for most people, but if this were to be the case, then it still doesn’t explain why forum members have the time and bloggers don’t.  If I were to delve into the murky waters of supposition, I could then say that obviously forum members are more likely to be towards the younger end of the spectrum with plenty of free time on their hands and bloggers are older, with many pressures and constraints on their free time…

But no one can simply say that.  Without any meaningful investigation into this matter, the best answer that I can come up with is: I don’t really know why this is the case.  Which is pretty much what I mentioned at the beginning of the previous paragraph!

In the meantime, I like to practice what I preach and the best example I can come up with for now is my brief guide on How to complete ‘Loose Ends’ on veteran for Modern Warfare 2.  Sure, I’d like to have written a guide (or several) on my favourite series, Uncharted, or perhaps Assassin’s Creed.  I simply haven’t had the time.

Now, is that a reason, or is it an excuse?

My quick take on Call of Duty: Black Ops

From the first opening scenes of the campaign to the warm, familiar waters of online multiplayer you can be in no doubt that this game is good.  I mean, seriously good.  Black Ops takes everything that made Modern Warfare 2 so good, and just wraps it all up in a comprehensive and coherent package.  The game excels with a throughly detailed, layered plot populated full of so many interesting characters.  I’m going to share with you some of my favourite things from the main story in Black Ops:

Continue reading My quick take on Call of Duty: Black Ops

Tips to speed up your network

Many people put up with very slow internet speeds and poor network performance.  With a little tweaking, you too could have a fast connection that’s reliable and works for you.  If you follow all (or at least most) of these steps, you’ll have a network that’s actually up to the task of managing data across any home computers, portable devices (iPhones, iPads etc), and of course, your games console.  There’s no excuse!

Sort out your computer

If you’re running Windows, then for antivirus install Microsoft Security Essentials as it’s lean, mean, and doesn’t bother you.  Plus it’s free, which helps!  It goes without saying that if your computer is very old and/or full with too many programs, then you may need to give it a spring clean or think about making an upgrade if the situation warrants it.

It’s worth mentioning that spyware and malware can significantly slow down your browsing experience, so you should regularly scan for nasties.  Yup, it’s obvious, but it needs to be said.  Also, whether you’re running Windows or a Mac, always have your firewall turned on.

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Have you tried renting games instead?

This is a brief summary of my experience with LoveFilm, and how the service started well, but went a bit downhill.  Now, I’ve been thinking about this for some time, and my conclusion may surprise you: it wasn’t really their fault.  My initial dilemma was that there weren’t really any games out there that I fancied buying at all, never mind at full price, but I’d certainly rent them!  LoveFilm had been advertising on TV for (what seemed like) years and I thought I’d give them a try.

The real problem with LoveFilm is that it’s games package doesn’t really work.  This is through no fault of their own, it’s just the nature of the beast.  Games tend to be out ‘on hire’ for far longer than films, so the chances of you receiving a popular game that’s just come out are few and far between.  My rental list had a good mixture of films and games, but because the games were almost always unavailable, I kept on receiving films instead.  Based on the service I received, I would definitely recommend loveFilm if you’re after renting films, particularly Blu-Ray films as the rental packages available represent outstanding value for money.

I just see very little value in paying extra for the games packages when you don’t stand a fair chance of receiving any games for weeks at a time.  So, have you tried renting games?  Are you thinking about it?  Drop me a line in the comments section below.

I’m going to ‘Platinum’ Modern Warfare 2

Yep, you heard it here first.  For those of you that are of the Xbox persuasion, I guess it means that I’m after 100% of achievements.  But it’s not going to be easy.  My biggest hurdles are the special ops missions, which present an interesting bunch of scenarios: some are almost too easy (hello Wardriving, Armour Piercing) whilst others verge on the ridiculously tough (big shout out to Snatch & Grab and High Explosive).

You may be thinking Modern Warfare 2 is yesterday’s news- been there, done that, next.  Well, up to a point.  You see, as much as I hate to say it, I’ll just spit it out anyway- all the games that have come out this year haven’t really interested me.  Any games that I might go for, will only be bought once they’ve come down in price.  One of the few games coming up this year that I will most certainly buy at full price, will be Call of Duty: Black Ops.

But until that time, Modern Warfare 2 has sustained me throughout most of this year, with the single player campaign completed on veteran, and the online multiplayer to dip in and out of.  And of course, special ops!  So that’s what I’ve been up to with my gaming.

Hands-on with Steam for the Mac

I find myself once again in familiar territory, as if everything has somehow come full-circle.  Some of my most memorable gaming moments have been on the PC with the Half-Life series and Counter Strike.  Anyone familiar with the Half-Life series will have been well acquainted with Steam as one is never present without the other.

However, as the years roll on, things change.  I originally ran the Steam client on my Windows XP machine, but now I’m running a Mac.  PC gaming became less of an issue for me with the advent of the PS3.  You had true next generation gaming, with each game for the console guaranteed to work- no upgrades necessary.

Rather than continuing being the sole preserve of the PC gaming community, on May 12th 2010 Steam became available for the Mac also.  The biggest benefit though is true multi-platform availability.  If you have a copy of a PC game through Steam, it’ll be available to play on the Mac at no extra cost… in theory.

Continue reading Hands-on with Steam for the Mac